Background
Soil remediation by excavation and off-site treatment is costly, time consuming, and interferes with normal site operations.

One area of concern to GSD is soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Such soils have traditionally been excavated and disposed of as hazardous waste in hazardous waste landfills or remediated using technologies such as fixation, soil vapor extraction, or forced air bioremediation.

Description
In-situ soil treatment has been recognized as a viable alternative, and GSD has worked with its managing general partner, FMC Corporation, to test and develop a product called PermeOx. PermeOx has been developed to provide controlled release of oxygen in-situ which permeates throughout the substrata, enhancing the bioremediation process. A minimal amount of PermeOx produces optimum levels of oxygen in the soil.

Results
GSD recently tested PermeOx to determine its effectiveness at enhancing the natural bio-remediation process. In the pilot study, GSD found by mixing PermeOx with petroleum hydrocarbon affected soil, an 85% to 90% reduction in total petroleum hydrocarbon (diesel) concentrations and 40% reductions in total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbon (hydraulic oil) concentrations. Using PermeOx instead of forced air bioremediation or typical soil vapor extraction, 40% cost reductions per ton of soil can potentially be realized.